The district court of the Hungarian city of Nyíregyháza (80 km from the border with Ukraine) made a verdict in the case of Ukrainian citizens forging documents for obtaining Hungarian citizenship, Mukachevo.net media outlet reported.
According to the publication, 12 defendants got suspended sentences ranging from 2 to 10 years in prison. Another 39 Ukrainians who attempted to obtain Hungarian citizenship fraudulently were fined.
At the same time, it is specified that two accused persons, who have dual citizenship of Hungary and Ukraine, received the longest term. They admitted that they had resorted to fraud and falsification in helping Ukrainians to obtain Hungarian citizenship for a fee.
Earlier, President of Ukraine and presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko promised to learn the Hungarian language if necessary. This promise was part of Poroshenko's election campaign between the first and the second rounds of presidential elections.
In September 2017, Ukraine passed a law that banned teaching in minority languages beyond primary school level. Ukraine has sizeable Russian, Romanian, Polish and Hungarian minorities that speak these languages.
